


First Day of the New Captain

by pewpewdragons (Nyoona)



Series: Pergamon Guard [3]
Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Discipline, Gen, guard - Freeform, the guard is a military type of situation so the discipline tactics used might be upsetting for some
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 03:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyoona/pseuds/pewpewdragons
Summary: Eudoxia knew it was going to be difficult when she accepted the job as Guard captain at Pergamon clan so she's nervous for her first day on the job. And it might turn out to be even worse than she expected.





	First Day of the New Captain

Eudoxia felt nervous. It wasn’t nearly the worst type of fear she had felt in her life but it was enough to make her very uncomfortable. In just a moment she would be facing, for the first time, the Guard she was appointed to lead from now on. Clan Matriarch Neria had told her about the problems the Council was having with them, so she already knew her new job would not be easy.

The Guard had originally been just the Matriarch and some of the older dragons, with new, younger members joining later on. The quality of those members had declined dramatically over the years. Neria had been too busy with the day to day running of the clan and no official Guard leadership had ever been established. That was where Eudoxia came in. She would be the first captain of the Pergamon clan Guard and her most important task was to reform them to a functioning force.

“Are you ready?” the white Guardian next to her asked. The Matriarch was much older than she was but still looked to be a formidable fighter in a peak condition. It hadn’t taken long for her to earn Eudoxia’s complete respect.

“As ready as I can be,” she replied to her.

“Good. Garou will properly show you around the barracks later on. We have made some additions to it to accommodate a captain and we hope you find them adequate. But for now we should just head to the courtyard. The Guard has been ordered to gather there for the introductions.”

Eudoxia nodded and followed Neria in from the front gate of the Guard post, into a spacious courtyard. It was surrounded by wall on one side and solid stone of the mountain on other. The other two sides were buildings. The largest one she guessed to be the barracks where the Guard members lived and where her new office and quarters would be too. There was a path between two smaller buildings that lead deeper into the Guard post. So far the place seemed very neat and built with purpose. It wasn’t a bad first impression at all.

At the center of the courtyard stood two dragons. One was a blue and purple Skydancer with yellow markings, and the other one was a flaming orange Nocturne in an equally bright armour.

 _This is it? Two dragons?_ She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She decided that recruitment of new members should be her most immediate concern.

“Where the heck is Orestes?” Neria’s annoyed voice growled. _So there’s a third one after all._ Eudoxia tried not to sigh or let her shoulders slump. This is what she would be dealing with from now on. No respect at all.

“Adhara, explain, now!” the Matriarch continued more furiously. The dragon she was talking to appeared to be the Skydancer as she reacted by turning her head away to try to conceal an eye roll. Then she noticed Eudoxia who was better positioned to see what she was doing. Adhara’s eyes fixed on hers for a second and Eudoxia was surprised to see the amount of hate they seemed to carry towards her.

“Dunno? Probably doing something very important?” she replied, turning her attention back to Neria, seemingly unfazed by the larger dragon’s fury.

 _This is the one that I need to break_ , Eudoxia thought, her eyes narrowing. She was already noting that what the Matriarch was doing wasn’t effective. Anger and threats wouldn’t get to this dragon so she needed to be calm and unaffected by anything when handling her. Luckily that was what she was good at. Adhara wasn’t going to get a rise out of her.

Just then a Tundra sauntered in from the gates behind them.

“Oh damn, it seems I’m late,” he said. Neria’s head immediately snapped to glare at the new arrival.

Eudoxia was shocked. _A Tundra? In the Guard?_ She turned to take a better look at the third Guard member as he walked by and joined the other two. He was light green and purple in colours, and everything about him seemed lazy, from the way he walked to the annoying smirk on his face.

 _This one is trouble too_ , she thought glumly as she watched the now complete Guard force in front of her. Reforming them was going to be rough. Then she steeled herself. _I am not here to make friends._

“My name is Eudoxia but you will call me captain,” she announced in a clear and commanding voice, after deciding it was time to take control of the situation. “Observing you sorry lot for just a few moments was enough and I can see that we have much work ahead of us. It will not be nice. I will not be nice. I do not care at all how things have been done here so far so it will be useless to bring such things up to me. From now on things will be done my way. If this does not satisfy you then the exit is that way,” she pointed to the main gate. “Have I made myself clear?”

Three pairs of different coloured eyes were staring at her, stunned. First one to speak was the Nocturne, who had been quiet so far.

“Yes captain!”. Her voice was clear and posture attentive and Eudoxia decided that this one would not cause disturbance.

Next one to follow was the Tundra and it didn’t take nearly as long as she had expected.

“Yes captain.” He still had the smirk on his face but wiping it off wasn’t a concern for Eudoxia at the moment. All she needed was to make them all acknowledge her.

Last one was Adhara and she took her time. Eudoxia kept a subtle eye on the Matriarch next to her, hoping she wouldn’t interfere. A fit of anger right now would ruin everything. But she seemed to be invested in observing the situation.

“Yes,” was her answer. Eudoxia cocked her head and  fixed an emotionless stare at the insolent dragon, allowing the silence to continue for a while before slowly speaking.

“Did you already forget?”

“Forget what?” she snapped.

“You will call me captain.” She was careful to keep her face completely neutral and to show no signs of annoyance or anger in her voice.

Adhara gritted her teeth together, refusing to reply. Eudoxia had expected something like that so she sat down, told the Guard to do the same and then just waited in silence. The atmosphere grew more awkward and the two others were starting to fidget around a bit.

“Come on Adi,” the Tundra whispered to the stubborn dragon next to him. It made Eudoxia decide that he wasn’t going to be quite as much trouble as she had initially thought. Then she turned her attention to the Nocturne.

“You, Nocturne. What is your name?”

“Ah, it’s Tomato, captain!” She had straightened her back to attention as soon as she was spoken to, Eudoxia was pleased to note.

“Tomato. You are released from this meeting. We will be looking over your duties tomorrow but for today just do what you would normally do on your shift.”

“Yes captain!” she piped up and scampered away. Eudoxia then turned to the Tundra, who she now noticed looked quite tired.

“Orestes. You came here straight from a night shift, did you not?”

“Yes captain.” The answer wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as Tomato’s had been, but it was good enough.

“You will be receiving a penalty for being late today but for now you are released. Go get some rest.”

“Thanks captain,” he said before walking away towards the building she had guessed to be the barracks. She frowned at the casual tone but decided to let it go for now. Then she continued to sit on silence, with just Adhara left and Neria still observing. It took some minutes before the Skydancer finally spoke.

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Can I go? We’ve been here long enough and this is pointless.”

“We will be here for as long as it takes.” She fixed a direct stare at her to show that she meant what she had said. They would sit here all day if it was necessary. Adhara lowered her head and sighed.

“—yes captain,” she muttered quietly. It was far from sincere or respectful but it was a start.

“Thank you Adhara. You may return to your normal duties now.”

“That was impressive,” the Matriarch finally commented when the rebellious Skydancer had disappeared inside the barracks.

“It is unfortunate that I had to resort to such strict measures on the first day,” she grimaced in reply. “And I am not enthusiastic about the idea of having to break someone’s spirit to make them submit. It would probably be wiser to just let that one go and recruit new members.”

Neria was looking towards the barracks thoughtfully.

“Normally I would agree, but as you’ll soon notice there isn’t exactly a line of enthusiastic dragons waiting to join. The Guard has a bad reputation. It’s in great part her fault of course, but kick her out and you’re going to be severely understaffed. My experience from the early days of the clan would suggest that too much work with no rest might get you in more trouble than keeping her here would.” She shook her head in a resigned manner. “But it’s your call. You’re the captain now and will do what you think is best for the Guard. Good luck.”

Eudoxia nodded and with that the Matriarch took her leave.

She had said that Garou would be here later on to show her around the place but for now she decided to head out to familiarize herself with the Keep and to maybe find a marketplace. But when she walked to the gate to leave, she found a blue Nocturne with bright pink wings waiting there. The dragon looked timid, half-hiding behind a gate post, eyes obscured by round spectacles, gripping some kind of a board to his chest.

“Are you the new captain?” he asked her with a tiny voice.

“Yes. Did you have some business with the Guard?”

“Ah! Uh— yes, I, um—” He seemed completely befuddled for a moment before finding his courage to speak. “I want to join the Guard!”

Eudoxia looked up and down the dragon. No armour. No weapons. A bit scrawny too.

“What is your name little Nocturne?”

“Wynnir,” he replied.

“Wynnir. Alright. To be honest you do not look the type to be joining the Guard,” she noted to the Nocturne.

“I can defend myself! I’ve— I’ve learned a lot about that because, uh—” he looked to the ground, embarrassed.

“Because you had to,” Eudoxia concluded. He did look like a prime target for thugs and bullies. “I think I understand.”

“Yes. And now I know how to fight!” His face looked up at her, so full of hope that Eudoxia didn’t dare crush his hopes right away. Maybe she would find something for him to do. Windsinger knew she would need anyone who would be this enthusiastic to join the Guard.

“Very well. Come back here tomorrow and we will see what you can do then.”

“Thank you! You won’t regret this, I promise!” A huge smile brightened up his whole face as he fluttered his wings in excitement. Eudoxia couldn’t help but smile a bit herself in return.

“I hope so. But now, tell me Wynnir, where can I find the marketplace?”

“I’ll take you there. Follow me!” He lead her down the path to get her first sight of the Pergamon Keep. She idly wondered what her life there would be like as she followed the bouncing Nocturne to inside the mountain where the Keep was located.

**Author's Note:**

> I just had to go and end the story on a carefully optimistic note, didn't I? But unfortunately things don't really work out the way you would hope. Some things do get better, but others don't.
> 
> The Guard will learn to function a lot better and Wynnir does find his place in the Guard as a scribe and very rarely walking the Guard shift on the streets when no one else can. But he also unfortunately develops a bit of a crush on Adhara, which turns Eudoxia away from a potential friend. And by the time Adhara decides to leave it's already too late. So sad.
> 
> Summary here bc I probably won't be writing about those events, at least not anytime soon, and the time skip for the next story will be about 5 years.


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